Michigan TE Zack Marshall apologizes for leaked texts criticizing Wolverines' offensive coordinator Jason Beck

The Michigan tight end's frustrations boiled over into a series of texts criticizing the direction of the offense after Saturday's loss to Minnesota

Oct 6, 2026 at 3:26 pm ET • 2 min read

Michigan tight end Zack Marshall has issued an apology on social media for comments critical of his team's offense and its usage of tight ends following Saturday's mistake-filled loss to Minnesota.

"Last weekend, in the hours after we lost, I made some inappropriate comments that I regret," Marshall posted Tuesday. "The game is won and lost as a team, and I pointed fingers instead of taking accountability. I let my frustrations speak for me in an emotional moment. I apologize to my teammates and coaches for the unnecessary drama that this has caused."

Marshall, a senior without a catch this season, allegedly wrote in a leaked text message that Michigan offensive coordinator Jason Beck, "had a meeting with all the [tight ends] and told us none of us are valuable to this offense."

Marshall had 16 receptions for 199 yards and a touchdown last fall for the Wolverines, but has played behind Hogan Hansen and Jalen Hoffman this season. As a team, only nine of Michigan's 69 completed passes have gone to tight ends so far this year.

A Michigan spokesperson told ESPN this week that the Wolverines' coaching staff is aware of the situation and has met with Marshall about his choice of words.

Kyle Whittingham is struggling out of the gate in Year 1 as the Wolverines are 3-2 overall, including an 0-2 start to Big Ten play.

The veteran coach told reporters that something has to change on offense for a team that's scored 19 and 14 points each of its last two games, both losses against league competition.

"Obviously, we had many offensive woes in this past game," he said Tuesday. "We were not nearly as productive as we needed to be, really, at anything. Didn't run the ball well enough, didn't throw it well enough, weren't good on third down, didn't protect the quarterback like we needed to. We turned it over. Just a myriad of issues that we gotta deal with, and it was discouraging in the respect that we had really taken a step forward each week with the offense up until last week, and we regressed, and so we've got our work cut out for us."

Michigan ranks 17th in the Big Ten in total offense, 17th in scoring offense and last in explosive plays.

It was supposed to come much easier this season for Underwood in his second campaign as the Wolverines' starter under a playcaller who saw immense success with his quarterbacks at Utah in 2025.

"Offensively, we've got a long way to go," Whittingham said. "I'm telling you right now, there's a lot of issues, and we gotta address them. It's just a situation of, again, figuring out what have we done well so far. What do we need to just cast off and not try to do anymore, try to put a square peg in a round hole, and find a way to manage the game offensively so we have a chance to win."